The transformations of the natural landscapes of the Haut-Saint-Laurent (Québec) and their implications on future resource management

Abstract Owing to its late colonization, (circa 1800), the region of the Haut-Saint-Laurent of Quebec is of high interest for the study of the transformations of the natural landscapes of North-Eastern America. Fourteen years of work by a multidisciplinary team and the utilization of some little-used data sources (notary deeds, nominative censuses), make the considerable scope of these changes evident. First, wetlands have been altered by human activities to the point that alder scrub is invading the marshes and black spruce has been eradicated from the bogs. Secondly, after a rapid expansion during the 19th century, agricultural use is now in steady decline on areas covered by morainic deposits. Thirdly, forest exploitation has changed precolonial vegetation to the point that what was once perceived as a climatic climax (sugar maple-hickory) is now understood to be an anthropic climax. Overall, the various studies discussed in this paper lead to the conclusion that today's Haut-Saint-Laurent landscapes are in need of reconstruction. This reconstruction must take into account the new rural context, where agriculture is no longer the dominant activity, and must utilize the theories and methods of landscape ecology.

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